


It

by lemotmo



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Without a Trace
Genre: Alien Character(s), Angst, Atlantis, Crossover, Gen, Gore, Horror, M/M, Minor SGA, WaT/SGA crossover, Without a Trace AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 17:57:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/600557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemotmo/pseuds/lemotmo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>When they arrived, <i>it</i> was already waiting for them.  Patiently hiding in the deepest darkest recesses of the city.</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	It

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in the process of transferring my best fics from Livejournal to this Ao3 account. As I read the stories again, I can clearly see the way my writing-style has changed (for the better) over the years. Some of these stories could use some re-editing. However, I have decided to leave the fics as they are. Each story clearly reflects the way I looked upon the world at the moment of writing. I kinda like that.
> 
> **This story is a repost from a fic written in February 2007**.

The first clue Martin has that it's in the room with him is when he somehow feels its presence. He's not sure how he knows, but it's here, with him, in this very room, lurking, waiting to jump him and disembowel him like it did all the others. Like Danny.

He's prepared for this. He's the only one left and he wants revenge so badly he can taste it in his mouth and feel it on his skin, crawling through the slick sweat that's rapidly gathering on his chest, back and limbs. And he shouldn't sweat too much, because he knows that the _Thing_ can smell him from miles away, but he can't just shut down his own body. No, not without taking _it_ with him.

The armoury is a big, dark place with lots of hidden corners. So it was fairly easy to rig the entire place with enough dynamite to blow up the whole East pier. And this is so not the reason why he came to Atlantis.

:::

"It'll be exciting," they had said. "An adventure of a lifetime. Unlike anything you've ever seen before."

And he let himself be fooled into believing them, while none of it had been true. Because when they arrived, _it_ was already waiting for them. Patiently hiding in the deepest darkest recesses of the city. Waiting for its release. And when, three years after their arrival, after surviving the Wraith, Genii and the Assurans all combined -on a sunny Tuesday morning- Sheppard's team had set out to explore another undiscovered part of the city and had accidentally opened up _its_ cell, everything had gone to hell.

He still remembers Dr McKay's bleak sightless eyes as he refused to move away from the Colonel's mangled body. Teyla's tears running down her cheeks, her clothes smeared with blood, stuttering-- trying to explain that -whatever it was- _it_ had taken Ronon's body as if Ronon was just another piece of a wardrobe he could try on.

And so the war for Atlantis had begun. For two weeks they had fought hard to find and kill it, but _it_ turned out to be stronger and smarter then any of them. Even Dr McKay couldn't match _it_ 's genius.

Every scientist had been given the order to find a weapon against _it_ in his or her own field. So Martin had been going through various indigenous plant life for days, trying to come up with something that might be harmful for the Thing. Danny had been diligently working next to him, testing all kinds of bugs for unknown venoms or other fluids that could have the potential of killing it.

They never took any breaks, because it only took a second for someone to die as the Thing went on its crazy rampage. But once in a while Danny stilled his hands by sliding his fingers through Martin's and pulling him a little closer, holding him, kissing him as if he was saying goodbye. He still remembers those kisses-- soft and sweet, expressing so many emotions at the same time. Danny would bury his hands in Martin's hair, clinging to him, whispering _I love you_ 's and gentle endearments. And Martin had just stood there, hanging on to him, realising -every damn time he reached for him- that Danny hadn't signed up for any of this.

Danny hadn't even wanted to go to Atlantis in the first place. He had passionately pleaded with Martin to stay on Earth. They had good lives on Earth. Steady jobs they loved at the local university. They had it all. And then the government had contacted him.

"We need you," they'd said. "Come with us. You'll be able to explore a whole new galaxy."

And how could he have possibly refused that? So he talked to them, explaining that he wouldn't go without Danny. And apparently they wanted him on that expedition badly enough to agree on him bringing Danny along.

Convincing Danny took more time. It was a period of painful fights, hurting insults flying all over the place, followed by long periods of them not talking to each other. But then -one night- Danny had slipped into bed with him, reaching for him-- holding him. He'd made a promise then, the darkness of the night shielding him from Martin's intense focus. And Martin will never forget the words Danny whispered in his ear, because in the end he failed to live up to them.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going. You really want to do this. I know you-- you can't resist the exploration-- you never could. And I don't know how to be without you Martin. I was a stupid drunk asshole before we met and I don't want to go back to that, so I'm coming with you. Wherever you go, I'll follow. You'll never have to be without me-- I promise."

That night they'd made love for hours. Just touching, kissing, holding, thrusting and releasing-- trying to assure each other that they'd made the _right_ decision.

And how wrong did it all turn out to be.

When Martin lets his mind wander, he can still see Danny's beautiful dark eyes growing wide with fear and knowledge of what was about to happen, blood spilling from between his lips as the Thing burrowed into him, eating him from the inside, taking his body for his, discarding of its former human shell and possessing a new one.

Martin -the coward- had run. He had let his fear overcome and he had run away. Away from the one person in the entire universe he had loved enough to give up everything and anything _-except for Atlantis, his treacherous mind never fails to remind him-_ that had ever mattered to him. He'd given up his family and his home for Danny, when it had become clear that his father didn't approve of his son's choice. When his mother had turned cold eyes at him, informing him that he was no longer a son of hers. He had taken it all-- for Danny.

:::

He's the last man standing now. He's the only one between this _Thing_ and Earth. And he can't allow it to reach Earth, not when so many brave men and women fought to the death to stop it from doing exactly that. So he gathered all his fear, anger and grief to finish the plan Dr McKay _-before the Thing got to him while he wasn't paying attention-_ had come up with to stop it once and for all.

He rigged the armoury with tons of C4, with a conduit directly connected to the two ZPM's. The shockwave of the exploding C4 would go through the conduits, force building up in the ZPM's, that would reach critical mass and implode, taking Atlantis, the planet and probably a big part of the Pegasus Galaxy with it. But it had to be done. It was the only way to keep the _Thing_ from escaping and swallowing the universe.

So now it's just him, the Thing and the little box with the red button he's clutching in his hands. He knows it's close by and he welcomes it. _It_ needs to be close enough to be stunned by the initial explosion, so it doesn't have enough time to get away before the ZPM's implode. If it's one thing they've learned about _it_ , is that it's fast. Faster than lightning if it needs to be.

Without warning it's suddenly there. Not three metres between them, staring at him with cold dead eyes. Eyes that once used to hold such warmth and feeling.

"Martin?" it says, Danny's voice strangely emotionless. "What are you doing?"

Martin briefly closes his eyes when it speaks, because--

"Oh God-- Danny."

As he opens his eyes again, it's right in front of him-- practically touching him. Its face forming a grotesque grin with Danny's beautiful lips stretching way too wide, the left corner of its mouth can't hold the strain as the skin tears and blood drips out.

"Yes. That's right. I'm Danny," it says, tilting its head to the side, studying Martin intently. "You know me very well. Don't you Fitzie?"

"Don't," Martin pleads, heart pounding in his throat. "Don't you ever call me that. You're not Danny. Not anymore."

"I'm not?" The Thing asks. "Strange. I feel like him. I talk like him. I even share his desires. Just like him I'd just love to eat you up. All of you." It grins maniacally.

"Then do it. Eat me or whatever it is that you do. But I promise you this," Martin says, swallowing deeply as he feels hands _-hands he used to welcome on his skin as they provided so much pleasure-_ touching him, burrowing under his clothes, reaching his bare chest, sliding up to settle above his heart. "You will not leave Atlantis alive."

"Oh? Really," the Thing says, vaguely amused. "And tell me Martin, who is going to stop me? You?"

"No," Martin spits out, a few drops of blood spraying all over Da-- the Thing's face, as he feels claws -instead of fingers- clawing into the tender flesh of his chest, reaching deeper, destroying tissue, burrowing down to reach his heart. A long forked tongue escapes from between Danny's lips and licks at the blood drops Martin's left behind.

With his last strength Martin reaches up with his left hand, still clutching the box with the red button in his right. He buries his hand in the Thing's hair and brings his face up close to it, staring right into its somewhat startled, yet unfeeling eyes, before he slides his cheek intimately against the Thing's cheek _-and he knows this so well. Still remembers those mornings when he slid his cheek against Danny's to whisper good morning into his ear, never failing to coax a shiver from Danny's welcoming body-_ and whispers in its ear:

"Atlantis is."

The pain is searing through his system, screaming at him, telling him he's dying. It's time, he knows this. He pulls back one last time, smiling a little, staring into Danny's dark and-- now, slightly puzzled eyes-- Danny's eyes, he convinces himself, not that _Thing_ 's.

Then there's one last flick of his thumb as he pushes the button and--


End file.
